Fonds RC0097 - Thomas and Mary Harrison family fonds

The Harrison family traces its roots to Yorkshire, England. The family consisted of Thomas, a gentleman farmer, Mary (née Loy), and their children, Thomas, Richard, Gertrude, Hilda, Dorothy, Mary and Elsie. Correspondence to the parents reveals that son Thomas Loy Harrison, after serving for Great Britain in the Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa, immigrated to Canada in 1902 and began farming in Saskatchewan. He later settled and continued to farm near Minnedosa, Manitoba and was joined by several siblings including Hilda, who came to Canada for health reasons, Mary and Gertrude. Gertrude married Jack Dyer whose family also owned farmland in the Minnedosa area. Mary Loy Harrison traveled to Canada in 1911 and returned to England where Thomas Sr. died in early December that same year. Bess Ready, wife of William B. Ready, McMaster University Librarian and Professor of Bibliography (1966-1979), was a daughter of Gertrude Harrison Dyer. Robin Harrison (1883-1953), a lawyer, immigrated to Canada in 1911 and settled in Minnedosa, Manitoba with several siblings. He practiced law there and served with distinction in World War I. A reference appears in the Manitoba Historical Society Archives.